experts say the ruling is considered largely symbolic because the issue is expected to be taken up by the u.s. supreme court. >>> thousands are supporting a bay area boy scout in his push to get his eagle scout ranking. he was denied the honor because he's gay. the teen and his family are not taking no for an answer. >> reporter: he's fighting back. in the past half hour. the teenager and his family presented the boy scout council with an online petition signed by 400,000 people nationwide. it demands the boy scouts of america grant him his rank as eagle scout that he earned. they denied him the offer and kicked him out of the boy scouts because he's gay. they hope to meet with the council this afternoon. ryan said this has been a difficult ordeal. >> getting my eagle award taken is totally devastating. hearing that it's happening to other scouts is also totally devastating. all the support i'm getting is nothing like i've ever had before. 400,000 signatures is not even dreamable. >> reporter: ryan also received an award from nancy skinner honoring him for his courage. and he told his story o